Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board 2025

The "hill from hell" at the Cables turned me back on almost this exact date last year (went back on July 1 and it was gone). My question is this: I'm going up this Saturday and curious how cut the steps are now getting around/over that spot? Last year, the boot path stayed close to the edge (not scary for many but I wasn't comfortable), and am curious if you feel someone with a moderate (healthy) fear of sketchy situations will be able get past this one? I'll have all the necessary gear.

We are a party of 5 coming up from the JMT and descending to Whitney Portal on 6/28. Please post your observations on the cables/ice. We have several new backpackers in the group and don't want to attempt the cables unless they are safe for novice hikers with microspikes (if needed) and trekking poles. We will alert them to the exposure on the cables. Good picture of the cables posted recently. It will be much appreciated if you can let us know when you get off the mtn.

A couple of photos of New Army Pass:


From Long Lake.



Same as it ever was...About the same as what I encountered last summer...Didn't go all the way up because of sore feet and Hokas...wasn't about to try and kick steps with those shoes...If I recall correctly, it's about 25-30' of snow and then a few easy bouldering moves to get up...

Only a few remaining snowfields below...the major PITA was at Long Lake...Loads on muddy trail, too...

A couple of comments from the peanut gallery:
-The "technical" moves described are going to be that much more difficult with an overnight pack on vs. a daypack...
-It was 71 degrees at nearly 10k' yesterday at about 6:00pm yesterday...ice/snow can't survive these conditions for very long...

Not sure where he fell but I suspect on the switchbacks. Hope he makes a full recovery.
https://signalscv.com/2025/06/hart-high-student-suffers-fall-at-mount-whitney-fighting-for-life/

That's the day I was up there finishing up my Cottonwood Pass to Whitney trip...
I pretty sure I saw them as I was heading down towards the JMT Junction...
I hope he gets well.

I had read that it was in the area of the ten or so switchbacks between the Whitney Zone sign and just before you reach Bighorn Park. The helicopter recovered him at Lone Pine Lake.

We often go up at night and this is the first area that I have to start being more attentive to my steps.

Praying for a full recovery. Had to be an incredible thing to do with your child and to see it end like this is tragic.

Yes, hoping for a full recovery. Sad accident.

The photo looks strange. His ice axe should be in his uphill hand, even if he is left-handed. His grip on the head should be further forward. I would have a trekking pole in the other hand, myself, and no leash. Perhaps it was lack of experience, perhaps it was the disorientation his father described.

If they were on the descent from Bighorn Park, there was no snow involved...

Injury on Mt Whitney
At 7:58PM on June 10, Inyo Search & Rescue (SAR) received a call from hikers on Mt Whitney.
The group reported that they had been on their way down in the dark when one of them seemingly walked off a switchback and tumbled 300 feet down a steep slope. They stated that he was bleeding and in a very altered mental state. The location of the incident was on Mt Whitney’s Main Trail, along the steep switchbacks between Lone Pine Lake and Outpost Camp – 3.25 miles from the trailhead.
Inyo SAR assembled 8 rescuers in Bishop, while CHP Inland Air Operations mobilized their helicopter H-80 in Apple Valley.
They all met at the Lone Pine airport at 10:30PM, then 2 rescuers were flown to Lone Pine Lake from where they hiked uphill towards the incident site. Meanwhile, 4 rescuers made their way up on foot, bringing a wheeled litter, just in case the helicopter rescue didn’t work out. 2 rescuers stayed behind at the airport to coordinate all field groups.
Inyo SAR reached the subject at 00:06AM and assessed the patient’s injuries before transferring him into a full-body splint and a SKED (a lightweight litter). Due to the seriousness of the injuries, they decided that an immediate evacuation was important. Thanks to a few bystanders who helped with carrying the litter, they brought the patient to the helicopter at Lone Pine Lake by 1:10AM.
At 1:19AM, H-80 landed at Lone Pine airport and transferred the patient to an ambulance by Lone Pine Volunteer Fire Department who took him to Southern Inyo Hospital.
All 6 field rescuers hiked to Whitney Portal and returned to Bishop by about 4:00AM.
We’d like to thank all bystanders who helped with this rescue and wish the patient a speedy recovery.
Please note that we don’t know what lead to the subject’s accident and speculations won’t help anybody. Always be prepared to spend a lot more time out there than you bargained for – accidents can happen to anyone.
Inyo SAR is an all-volunteer, professional nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization operating in cooperation with and under the Inyo County Sheriff’s Office. Our ability to provide life-saving search and rescue services depends on generous donations. Inyosar.com

I digress a little on their discouraging speculation on what caused the accident, people aren't doing it to be hateful or judgmental but have a natural desire to know what caused the accident so they could perhaps avoid making the same mistake.

At that location, I feel either exhaustion and/or altitude sickness caused the disorientation. I've encountered many as I start up at night that are finishing their day hikes with a look of desperation and defeat in their face asking "how much further?", many of them much younger and more fit-looking than myself. That day hike is just a tough cookie no matter who you are (except for Crazy Jack).

For anyone new to the Whitney Main Trail, it's crucial to remain aware of your surroundings, especially when descending at night between Trail Camp and just above Lone Pine Lake.

This part of the trail has a history that's quite serious, having claimed a life in the past, if I remember correctly, back in the fall of 2020.

Anyone new to the Whitney Main Trail who must descend at night should be very aware of their surroundings between Trail Camp and just above Lone Pine Lake.

I made sure to document all the hazardous areas on the main trail in a video I created in 2021.

I'm heading out in July to make a new, updated video on the Whitney trail, focusing specifically on all the areas that require extra caution.

If you're new to Mt Whitney, please watch: Mt Whitney Main Trail

I headed up to Onion Valley (another great place for acclimatization hikes) to drop off a motorcycle for the ride back to Whitney Portal at the end of the WP to OV hike...

What a day...and to top it off, I met a PCT hiker from the Isle of Man on the way down...motorcycle nut (me) getting to talk IoMTT for a few miles down to Onion Valley...I ended up giving her and 3 friends a ride down to Independence...

Here are a couple of photos:


Zoom in to see how crowded the parking lot was...I had to park down the road...it's definitely Summer.



Looking up to the Pass...


There was 1 patch of snow to negotiate...I didn't see any snow on the west side...the word on the trail is that there's still some snow on the north side of Glen Pass...no negative comments about Forester....there was talk about the east side Whitney Trail being sketchy...

We didn't make it up, our new tent was completely destroyed (multiples poles snapped and punctured both inner and outer shell) by the winds at Trail Camp on Friday night. The tent collapsed in the middle of the night and we barely got an hour of sleep as we tried to sleep with the tent laying on our heads flopping around violently smacking us.

On top of that, the altitude was hitting my wife and I pretty hard, we didn't follow our normal acclimation routine and paid the price. The universe was telling us to go home and so we listened.

On the positive side: we spoke with many coming down, met a few beasts that were finishing the HST, others coming from Horseshoe Meadows and Onion Valley. Nobody seemed to be too bothered by the two spots on the switchbacks (the top switchback from trail crest and the cables). Most claimed they never took their axes out and only one or two used spikes for the top switchback coming down from trail crest. It was so warm out there during the day that by the 28th the conditions could be completely different.

Good luck up there!

Inreresting that you say it was warm...there were 2 days out of 4 where the down jacket never came off...This was on a trip up the North Fork of Lone Pine Creek to Onion Valley...06.22-06.25...

For anyone heading from Onion Valley to Whitney, here are a few photos of Forester Pass:


Looking "north" from Forester Pass.



Looking back up to Forester Pass.


There is a High Line that was the preferred way to go...me being me, I descended on a straigh line (near the glissade track) hoping I'd be able to down climb a gully to the upper tarn...it didn't go with the equipment I had and I had to clmb back up to the trail...so, instead of saving an hour, I wasted an hour-and-a-half...

There's a pretty good reason I don't really like the Sierra in June...the suncups on just about every snowfield were horrendous...a few more weeks and it should all be gone...along with June...

The other issue: the streams are still running pretty high...There's a warning from the Tyndall Ranger to skip the norman crossing and head upstream to a wider section that is calmer...I went WAY upstream to where I knew the stream split and had a real easy time with 4-6 inches of slow moving water...

More to come in a separate thread on the 4 days...

Richard,

I went through your entire set of photos for this hike. Very nice. Thanks!

In two of the photos it looks like you are possibly using the GoLite Gust pack. Not many of these are seen anymore.

Jim

Richard, we are coming back out in about a week to do the HM ->Onion Valley trip. You may cover these in your follow up post but if you have time, I wanted to throw a couple questions your way.

1) Your assessment of mosquitoes, I'm going to assume the status is "horrible" since we're in that time of year but would love to hear "not so bad!".
2) Was the chute at Forester dry?
3) Was there any point around Forester you needed/used microspikes? We were hoping to not carry these but your feedback will help make the final call.

Regarding your comment on the warmth, we were only there on the 20/21st, I was down to a sleeveless shirt and saw people hiking under umbrellas. The nightmare wind night of the 20th was a bit on the cold side at trail camp, but that was it, we hit 43 overnight according to my little device.

One bite on the hand...I was covered up and trying to move at a pace that wouldn't let them track me...the cold weather may have kept them down and I'm hoping the cold weather will have killed off a batch...my pants were Permethrin and I had a shirt in the pack, but never used it...

RE: the chute I was trying to down climb...No, it was snow and would have required an axe and crampons, which I was not carrying...only took poles (one broken by this time) and micros...

I wouldn't try Forester without at least Micros...there were plenty of people without, including some in "tennis shoes"...foolhardy in my opinion...

I camped "below" the Tydall Creek Crossing and "below" Upper Vidette Meadow, so 11k+ and 10k+...


BTW: I'm going to start a thread on "Great Camping Spots"...I've been to 2 in the past few weeks...The Balcony at the Tarns above Guitar Lake and what I'm calling "East Vidette View" below Upper Vidette...

I think my pack is 30+ years old now...
I've made one modification...using my tent poles, doubled up, to support my back amd I'm going to glue in some added padding at the hips...it doesn't have any...


Thank you for your posts...I wish you would go digital so we could see your trips...

Thanks for the feedback. Microspikes will definitely be accompanying us then.

We're treating clothes, bringing plenty of Picardin and we each invested in this FlexTail "Tiny Repel S" (the Thermacell we brought last year "kind of" worked but too bulky and heavy). Hoping all this mostly keeps the bugs off us. I'd rather deal with rattlesnakes than swarms of mosquitoes, I hate those things because they love me so much.

I'll report back if this FlexTail actually helps at all in case anyone is interested. The reviews seemed pretty positive but until I try it I'm going to remain a skeptic.